JJ Redick openly questioned the Lakers' effort and defensive commitment after the loss in Phoenix, saying too many players chose comfort over making the hard plays needed to win.
The Phoenix Suns dominated the Los Angeles Lakers 132–108 on Tuesday night, handing LA its second consecutive loss for the first time this season.
The defeat dropped the Lakers to 19–9, though they remain fourth in the Western Conference. It was arguably their worst defensive performance of the year, and head coach JJ Redick seemed to agree with that after the game.
"They scored on the first 13 possessions of the second half," Redick said when asked what went wrong.
"They had about a 140 offensive rating. They had a 1.43 offensive rating when they touched the paint. So, they touched the paint on every possession," he stated.
We couldn't keep them out of the paint."
Redick pointed to defensive breakdowns as a major issue, regardless of the schemes the Lakers tried.
"We didn't do that at all tonight. We tried zone, they got a layup and an open three. I don't know why we were guarding Mark Williams at the 3-point line."
Credit AP - Scanpix
He then appeared to take a subtle jab at one of his own players.
"We had a guy the other day who hasn't played a lot who didn't know what a 'flood' was in the middle of a game," Redick said. "We clearly have some room to grow."
"There are shortcuts you can take, or you can do the hard thing, and you can make the second effort, or you can't, or you can sprint back, or you can't. It's just a choice," he continued.
"It's human nature. We make easy choices because it's comfortable. Comfortable doesn't win."
When a reporter asked directly whether the Lakers have enough players who consistently choose to play hard, Redick's answer was blunt: "No."
The Lakers will look to bounce back when they face the Houston Rockets on Christmas Day.
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